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On Friday, February 17, 2023, eight-month-old Ahmiri Chaney was reported missing, prompting Anchorage police to issue an Amber Alert in an attempt to locate the child.
Eric Chaney Jr., the child's father, is the reported suspect in the abduction. He's described as a black man with brown hair and brown eyes, standing 5'8" tall and weighing 150 pounds.
Anchorage police were called to a homicide scene on East 12th Avenue and Norman Street at 8:57 am on Friday. According to a news release from Anchorage police, they located a woman dead inside the house with trauma to her upper body. Eric is also suspected of being involved in the incident.
The abduction of Ahmiri Chaney
According to the Amber Alert poster, Ahmiri Chaney has been missing since February 13, 2023, and to help locate the child, a description of Ahmiri was provided, which mentioned an 8-month-old Alaska native boy with brown hair and brown eyes, weighing about 25 pounds.
Anchorage police discovered a deceased woman at the residence on East 12th Avenue and Norman Street, which they believe was a homicide, but they were unable to locate Ahmiri, who also lives there. State emergency officials stated that Ahmiri Chaney was last spotted near the intersection of Norman Street and East 12th Ave.
Authorities also reported that suspect Eric Chaney Jr. was last spotted wearing a dark ski mask, a light-colored hooded sweatshirt with the Chicago Cubs logo on the sleeves, and dark pants.
Anchorage police issued a press release requesting that the public and media refrain from posting or publishing photos and/or videos of the scene until the situation has been resolved, as doing so could endanger the public's and officers' safety. The release also said,
"We appreciate the community's cooperation and understanding during our response, and we will keep you informed of any new developments."
Although everyone was encouraged to inform of any useful leads to locate the child or the suspect, they were urged not to approach the suspect.
APD special operations units were dispatched to a residence near 6000 More Lane later Friday evening due to a barricaded suspect. The Special Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT), Crisis Negotiation Team, and Tactical Support Unit were among the police units who rushed to the scene.
A person wearing camouflage clothes was noticed departing a building just after 10 pm with the child in his arms, who was afterward heard crying.
Ahmiri Chaney has been found safely
Ahmiri Chaney has been located safe following an hours-long standoff with Anchorage police, and the Amber Alert has been called off.
Following the standoff, suspect Eric Chaney was arrested and is in police custody. Officials are likely to issue charges against Eric soon.
Amber alerts in Alaska are quite rare. An Amber alert is usually only issued after the department exhausts all efforts to find the child. The most recent one was issued in August of last year, and prior to that, the state hadn’t issued an Amber alert since 2017.
